Monday, March 09, 2009

Spring is Almost Here -- Maybe Not

Our family has been busy with thoughts of spring and preparations for what we need to do. Some of our seeds are planted, and Jim has been thinking a lot about bees. Last year we were too late in ordering bees so had to forgo the season, but this year Jim is determined to give it another try.

Yesterday Jim asked me to wash his bee suit. He read somewhere that if there is any residue of dead bees on the suit it will make the new bees think he is showing aggression. Without thinking too much about it, I washed the jumpsuit and gloves in the washing machine. Oops. When I took out the suit I happened to read the instructions on the tag, and it told me to hand wash the items. I sure hope I didn't do any damage to it, as we certainly don't want to purchase another one.

I was dismayed to discover one of the gloves is torn in a couple of areas where the mesh meets the glove portion. I hope I can repair it well enough so they don't provide access for bees to Jim's arms and hands. The bottom of the washer had residue of chunks of rubber or plastic, and I have a feeling I washed out the coating from the inside of the gloves. I think I need to call a friend that does beekeeping to see if that's a bad thing, and if we should invest in a new pair.

Thankfully I soaked the head covering in a bucket of soapy water, so it is in good shape. Guess I better start reading labels before I attempt to clean something for the first time.

All day we've been receiving warnings of impending storms for the state. Jim is supposed to head out very early tomorrow for legislative hearings down in Bismarck, and we'll see if he can even get out of the driveway:

WINTER STORM TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF WESTERN & CNTL NORTH DAKOTA MON. THROUGH TUESDAY. A BAND OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL CONTINUES ACROSS FROM FAR SOUTH CNTL NO. DAKOTA & INTO THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. TWO TO FOUR INCHES OF NEW SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS BAND BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON IN THE AFOREMENTIONED AREAS. FORECAST NORTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW TODAY ACROSS S. NO. DAKOTA, FURTHER REDUCING VISIBILITIES & CAUSING ROADWAYS TO BECOME SLIPPERY.

A SECOND & HEAVIER AREA OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN & CNTL NO. DAKOTA TONIGHT & CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUES. WILL POSSIBLY REACH 7 TO 10 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG & SO. OF A LINE FROM HETTINGER TO CARRINGTON, 3 TO 7 INCHES ALONG & 30 MILES TO EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM BOWMAN THROUGH FESSENDEN, INCLUDING MANDAN AND BISMARCK. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL SLOWLY DECREASE FURTHER NORTH OF THIS LINE, WITH LESS THAN ONE INCH EXPECTED IN NORTHWEST ND. SOME FORECAST UNCERTAINTY STILL REMAINS, SO THE AXIS OF HEAVIEST SNOW COULD SHIFT FROM THE CURRENT FORECAST.WINDS WILL INCREASE TONIGHT & INTO TUES. ACROSS WESTERN AND CNTL NO. DAKOTA, POTENTIALLY CREATING SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW WITH HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE TUES. ACROSS SE NORTH DAKOTA, INCLUDING JAMESTOWN, ASHLEY & ELLENDALE.

FURTHERMORE,VERY COLD TEMPS COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS ARE FORECAST TO CAUSE WIND CHILL VALUES TO FALL TO 30 TO 45 BELOW MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUES. ACROSS WESTERN & CNTL NO. DAKOTA. SEE THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATES FOR FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS DEVELOPING WINTER STORM.

I feel for our animals. It's been warm at times, and so they are starting to shed. This very cold weather can be quite a shock to their systems. I'm thankful our goats won't be kidding until at least April.